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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Turkey Day!

Wishing all my pals a happy Turkey Day. I'm sure you all have much to be thankful for and so do I. One of those things is all of you! When I say my paw-prayers, you will all be included.




Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Day 1 of Guinea Pig Fostering-Gizmo and Yoda

Mama is fostering a bonded pair of guinea pigs. The male, Yoda, was neutered today and needed a quiet place to recover. His BFF Gizmo came too so they wouldn't have to be separated.

Guinea pig B&B.

Mama set up Dottie's playpen in the office for them to stay in while they're here. For now, they have to have a barrier between them, but once Yoda is better, she'll remove it and they will be in the same space.


Yoda's surgery went well and he was eating right away. Mom got a salad for dinner and made sure to put in some extra veggies for the visiting piggies (and Dottie too!). They both ate them up! Yoda especially liked the carrot.

Gizmo eating her veggies.
After he ate, Mama gave Yoda his medicine. He was a very good boy and took it. Then she checked his incision to make sure it looked okay.

Yoda after having his veggies and medicine.



Gizmo is keeping an eye on Yoda.
 I'll keep you posted on Yoda's recovery!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

National Cat Day

I know what you're thinking. It's silly to think that cats should only be celebrated on one day a year. We cats really know that every day is cat day, but humans sometimes need a reminder on the calendar. So today is National Cat Day.

In honor of National Cat Day, Mama went to Wayside Waifs and spent the evening with Quentin. She made sure he had a special day.





Looks like it was a good day for Quentin! Hope you had a great National Cat Day as well!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Poor Little Lowenstein

Lowenstein hasn't been feeling well lately. It started with him pooping in the living room behind Grandpa's chair. Mama and Dad took him to the V-E-T where they found an overgrowth of bacteria in his GI tract. The V-E-T sent him home with some probiotics and metronidazole.


He started doing better pretty quickly. He started using the litter box again within a couple of days. It seemed like he was on the road to recovery.

Today was different. He's been sleeping a lot and just not acting right. He didn't want his dinner, although he ended up eating it a couple of hours later. When Mama picked him up to carry him upstairs, he was just limp in her arms. His poops have been really soft, too.

Mama and Dad are going to take him back to the V-E-T tomorrow and get him checked out. After what happened with me-not really knowing why I was sick or how to make me better-they are pretty scared of something like that happening again. Please send get better thoughts to the little orange kitty.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

ASPCA Mega Match-A-Thon

There's an exciting pet adoption event happening in Kansas City this weekend. Three area shelters-Wayside Waifs, Great Plains SPCA, and KC Pet Project-are participating in the ASPCA Mega Match-A-Thon event. From Friday, October 18 to Sunday, October 20, all pets, at all three locations, will only cost $25 to adopt!

If you're looking to add to your family, now is the perfect opportunity to do it! You could go to Wayside Waifs and meet Chris, my Featured Furry from the beginning of the month. He's still waiting for his forever home. Here he is cuddling with Mom, showing off his lap cat skills:


If Great Plains SPCA is closer for you (they have a campus on both sides of the state line!) you could visit Phillip at the Merriam campus. He was the Featured Furry back in June. He's a high energy kitty.


These kitties are great deals that you just can't pass up! Oh, and if you're looking for a dog instead, they're $25, too! The shelters have a combined goal of adopting out 700 pets during this event. Help them reach that goal-or better yet, surpass it!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Featured Furry: Chris

Sometimes Mama meets a cat at Wayside Waifs and just knows that she needs to give him a little extra love and a little extra help finding his forever home. This week she met one of those kitties.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Richman.

Meet Chris. He's 8 years old, came to Wayside as a stray, and is FIV positive. He's a handsome black cat with a bit of a salt and pepper coat. He's a sweet boy and super friendly.

If you come to meet Chris, don't let his looks put you off. His ears always stay a little flattened, but he's not mad at all! When he came to the shelter, he had some pretty bad wounds around his ears. Staff thinks it was probably due to a serious ear mite problem that caused him to scratch around his ears to the point that they bled. He still has scars from these wounds, but his ears are much better now!

He also had to have some teeth pulled when he came to the shelter. After living on the street for who knows how long he certainly didn't have proper dental care and his teeth weren't in very good condition. He even had to have a fang pulled! Because he doesn't have all of his teeth, he sometimes drools a little. Mama told him not to worry about it though, he didn't need to feel embarrassed by it.


Chris is going to need a special kind of home. He'll need to be an indoor only cat. He will also need to be watched closely for any sign of illness. Since he's FIV positive, he could get sick more easily than a healthy cat and it could mean a longer recovery time. As long as he's kept in a healthy environment and isn't subject to stress, he should lead a long, healthy life.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Dottie's Decline

My guinea pig sisfur Dottie isn't doing very well, pals. She's getting older and she suddenly started acting ill yesterday morning.

Dad was the first to notice. She was sitting, just staring at the wall of her cage yesterday morning. She wasn't talking or interacting at all. Mama noticed there wasn't much water gone from her bottle and asked who had last filled it and when. Dad had filled it the morning before. It should have been almost empty, but was only down about an inch. Grandma also said that the hay in Dottie's feeder was from the day before.

Mama picked her up and Dottie didn't try to wiggle away at all. When she held her close she noticed how cool she was. That wasn't normal. Mama called the vet to see if they could bring her in to be checked out. Unfortunately, the vet who works on Sundays doesn't know much about guinea pigs, so they had to make an appointment for first thing Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Mama bought some vitamin C liquid to give her in case the problem was scurvy. She gave Dottie a dose, plus some water, then wrapped her up in her blanket and put her in a little cat bed. She filled up some water bottles with hot water and put them in the bed with her. Later, a friend of Mama's who also has guinea pigs suggested that she mush up some of Dottie's pellets in some water and give her that by syringe, too. Dottie didn't like it, but Mama did the best she could to get some nutrition in her.



Mama then put Dottie back in her cage with a newly warmed water bottle and told her goodnight. She prayed that Dottie would still be alive in the morning.

This morning, Mama got up and checked on Dottie. She seemed about the same. Mama got ready and her and Dad took her to see Dr. Krogh at Banfield.



Dr. Krogh was very thorough in her exam of Dottie. She explained that at over 4 years old, she was elderly. She didn't find anything wrong with her during the exam. Her teeth were fine and so was her heart. She was skinny, but that was all.

Dr. Krogh said that they could do bloodwork and x-rays to see if there was a tumor or if her liver or kidneys were failing. Mama asked if they found something like that, was there anything they could do? Dr. Krogh said no. She also said that Dottie was probably just experiencing normal aging issues. Mama and Dad decided not to go through the diagnostics. Instead, they asked what they could expect and how to best care for her.

Dr. Krogh explained how they could keep syringe feeding her using baby food. She also said it was important to keep her warm since she wasn't able to maintain her body temperature by herself. She said to watch for her appearing to be in any pain or if she wasn't taking any food from the syringe.

Mama asked how long she thought Dottie could maintain like that. Dr. Krogh said that as long as she was taking food from the syringe, she could hang on for months. She said that if Dottie couldn't walk anymore or was hurting, that would be time to let her cross the bridge.



Mama and Dad took Dottie home and got her comfy. Mama bought a few kinds of baby food to try out. Dottie hasn't been very cooperative taking the food from the syringe yet, but Mama and Dad are hoping that after getting a little food in her, it might stimulate her to eat a little more.

Mama is going to set up her desk lamp next to Dottie's cage to keep it warm overnight. Her and Dad are determined to help Dottie live as comfortably as she can for as long as possible.

Please send good thoughts that Dottie will eat and that we will have her around for a long time to come.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

National Pet Memorial Day

Today is National Pet Memorial Day. It was started by the International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories over 40 years ago and is recognized the second Sunday in September.

We all do special things to remember our pets who have passed. For me, Mama planted a garden in my memory.


She even had a friend paint a special rock with my picture and my name on it.


There are many ways to remember a special pet and help ease the heartbreak of losing them, but have you ever considered where it really starts? For many people it is at the pet cemetery where arrangements are made.


At Wayside Waifs, there is a special department just for times like those. Pet Memorial Services is a quiet spot behind the shelter where Mama took me after I went to the Rainbow Bridge. They were very kind and compassionate. While Mama and Dad were there, not only were they cared for by the people who work there, but by another special employee, Miss Ellie.


Miss Ellie had been up for adoption at Wayside Waifs. The folks at Pet Memorial Services looked at her resume and decided she would be a good fit with them. Guess what? They were right! Miss Ellie does a great job of offering comfort to grieving families.


It was so nice for Mama to have a kitty to pet while she was making hard decisions. Miss Ellie didn't even mind the tears. I hope that when the time comes, you have a similar expert to get you through that moment.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Hello, Homer

A week ago today, Homer the Blind Wondercat came to the Rainbow Bridge. His Mom & Dad didn't tell the world for a few days, giving them time to grieve privately.

The news hit everyone hard and Mama was no different. She shed some tears knowing what Homer's Mom was going through, wishing she could offer some comfort. Homer touched many people and changed many lives just by people knowing about him. Mama is especially thankful that his Mom wrote the book about him. It helped her make a very special friend.

Back in October of 2010, Homer's mom, Gwen Cooper, came to Kansas City to read from her book. Mama decided to go, even though she was going to have to go by herself. It turned out that I was tweeting with @Ryker_Tyker that day and found out his mom was going too! We worked it out so that our moms would meet at the reading.



It was a great night! Mama got to meet both Ryker's mom and Homer's mom! Mama and Ryker's mom have since become very special friends and it's all thanks to Homer and his mom.



I made sure to welcome Homer to the Rainbow Bridge and thank him purrsonally for leading Mama to such a good friend. 

Friday, August 23, 2013

Featured Furry-Spider

Mama met a very pretty black kitty at Wayside Waifs this week. Her name is Spider. She's not scary though, just speedy.



Spider is an Oriental Shorthair mix. She has a very graceful face and a slim body. She's a year old and quite playful.



She is very sweet and has lots of love to give. She gave kisses to Mama and even nibbled her ear. Check out this video that A Tonk's Tail's mama took.



If you want to give Spider a forever home, you should do it before the end of August. Until then, all black pets are half price! What a deal!

UPDATE

SPIDER FOUND HER FOREVER HOME TODAY!! CONGRATULATIONS SPIDER!!

Monday, August 19, 2013

Goodnight, Harvey Monster

If you're friends with Mom on Facebook or follow her on Instagram, then you've probably seen the pictures she posts of me at night while I'm sleeping.




Apparently, it's become quite popular! She calls it "Goodnight, Harvey Monster." I do look pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

If you want to follow along, check out Mom's Instagram account. She doesn't get a picture of me every night, and sometimes she posts pictures of the new interloper, Lowenstein or the dumb dog, Yaz. It's worth it to see my snoozing face a few times a week though!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Featured Furry-Herbert

There is a great cat at Wayside Waifs waiting for his forever family to come along. His name is Herbert and he's a pretty nice guy.


Herbert-a.k.a. Herbie the Love Bug-came to Wayside as a stray. He's four years old and is ALL man-cat. Mama says he has a big, solid head, so watch out if he gives a head butt!

Every time someone walks into his room, he politely says hello. He likes to be petted, but can get overstimulated and nip at your fingers. Because of this, he should go to an adult-only home or possibly one with mature teens.



Herbert is also FIV positive. All that means is that his immune system isn't as strong as it should be. If he were to get a cold, he would need to see a vet to keep him healthy.


If you'd like to meet this good looking man-cat, go check him out at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Meet Our New Addition!

We have a new family member and his name is Lowenstein.



It all started when Mama was looking at kitties on the Great Plains SPCA website. She came across this handsome fellow. The cool part? His name at the shelter was Palmer! Mama thought maybe it was a sign. She decided that she and Dad should go look at him, so they did.

Mama fell in love with Palmer in an instant. He was sweet and cuddly right away. He had Dad wrapped around his paw quickly, too.


Mama and Dad decided that they shouldn't bring him home without telling Grandma and Grandpa first, so they put a hold on him. They started discussing names, too. Palmer Palmer would have been cute, but they wanted to keep up with the theme of names from A League of Their Own. They finally settled on Lowenstein.

The next day they drove back to Great Plains to make it official. It was a very happy time for all of them!


So far, things have been going great. Lowenstein has been living in Mama and Dad's room. He is a champion cuddler and nuzzles Mama's face. He's just what she has needed! Introductions to the other furry family members have been slow. Harvey isn't crazy about another cat in the house and Evelyn is scared of everything. He and Dottie took to each other right away though!


Lowenstein is very small. He's five years old and was brought into the shelter as a stray. They have no idea what his life was like before he was rescued, but surely a cat this sweet lived with a family before. He's got the tiniest little meow and is never pushy. Whenever one of the other cats hisses at him, he just ignores it and doesn't let it upset him.

He's taking on many of the responsibilities that used to be mine. He sleeps with Mama, talks to her, and keeps her company when she's in the bathroom.


I have a feeling Lowenstein and Mama are going to have a strong bond. He's already got her back!


Thursday, June 20, 2013

Gwen Cooper is Coming to Kansas City

I'm a big fan of Homer the Blind Wondercat, so that means I'm a big fan of his mom, too. Gwen Cooper is going to be in Kansas City this Saturday, June 22nd and I can't wait!


She's going to be here promoting her book Love Saves the Day. You can read my review here. The short review is: it's PAWESOME!

You should come out to seen Gwen on Saturday at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W. 47th St. She'll be there talking about her book and cats at 1 p.m.